Chapter 406 - 363: The Round of 16: Mutual Wins and Losses

Takeda Nobuyoshi laughed heartily. "The Samurai truly lives up to his name as one of Japan’s elite! If he becomes champion, I’ll give him a special reward!"

"And Wu Yunsang, I’ll have you to thank for that ten million USD contribution!"

Wu Yun nonchalantly downed the bottled water in his hand, then smiled. "Takeda, don’t celebrate too early. There are still eleven matches to go!"

Takeda Nobuyoshi stretched and turned to Wu Yun. "What’s that phrase you have in Huaxia? Let’s just wait and see how this plays out!"

The fifth match: No. 5, Iron Bone from Thailand, versus No. 12, Anaconda from Brazil.

As it turned out, Anaconda failed to crush the Thai fighter’s "iron bones." Instead, an elbow strike sent him sprawling, belly-up on the mat.

For this match, Wu Yun had naturally bet on the Thai, bringing the score of his wager against Takeda Nobuyoshi to:

4-3

Wu Yun also happened to pocket a few hundred thousand USD from this match.

The sixth match: No. 6, Brown Bear from Russia, versus No. 11, Whirlwind from South Korea.

Neither Wu Yun nor Takeda Nobuyoshi favored the South Korean for this match, and the house had adjusted the odds accordingly.

A win for Brown Bear paid 1.2, a win for Whirlwind paid 2.5, and a draw paid 2.

But upsets were rare, and the fight was almost completely one-sided.

Brown Bear, a master of boxing and Sambo, completely steamrolled the Taekwondo expert. When Whirlwind landed a flurry of kicks on Brown Bear’s torso, they did little more than make a series of SMACKING sounds and leave a reddish patch on his skin; they failed to break his defense.

Just as Whirlwind changed tactics, attempting a high roundhouse kick to the head, he was sent flying the moment he lifted his leg. He crashed heavily onto the canvas and was immediately pounced on by Brown Bear, who began pummeling his head.

The score of the wager between Wu Yun and Takeda Nobuyoshi became 5-4.

"This fucking idiot. In a situation like this, he should’ve just used low kicks to control the distance. Keep kicking Brown Bear’s lead leg—that was his only path to victory!" Wu Yun lamented, shaking his head as he watched Whirlwind’s bloody face being ground into the mat.

For once, Takeda Nobuyoshi didn’t argue with Wu Yun, instead nodding in agreement.

However, when Wu Yun saw a woman with an unnaturally sculpted face rush to Whirlwind’s side, crying her eyes out, he couldn’t help but shrug in sympathy.

The seventh match: No. 7, "The Champ" from the Philippines, against No. 10, a boxer from the United States.

Aside from minor differences in height and weight, their stats showed they were evenly matched.

So, Wu Yun randomly chose No. 7, "The Champ," while Takeda Nobuyoshi naturally picked the No. 10 boxer.

The fight started as a dead heat, with both fighters trading blows in an incredibly bloody exchange.

With no gloves, the fighters’ brow ridges were quickly split open, and their faces began to swell.

The ending, however, was somewhat comical. "The Champ" slipped—perhaps on a patch of blood on the canvas—and stumbled backward.

The No. 10 boxer wasn’t about to let such a golden opportunity pass. He lunged forward, landing two heavy THUDS on "The Champ’s" chin and securing the win.

"Hahahaha! Wu Yunsang! It seems my luck is better, after all!"

Wu Yun vs. Takeda Nobuyoshi

5-5. A tie.

The eighth match: No. 8, Scimitar from Arabia, vs. No. 9, Werewolf from the United States.

For this round, both Wu Yun and Takeda Nobuyoshi chose the American, Werewolf. The guy’s neck was incredibly thick, and with his refrigerator-like build, his ability to take a punch was undeniable.

Just as Wu Yun expected, the Arab’s "scimitar" wasn’t sharp enough. Despite his speed and landing two roundhouse kicks to the head, Werewolf seemed completely unfazed and ultimately KO’d his opponent.

Wu Yun vs. Takeda Nobuyoshi

6-6. Still tied.

As Werewolf delivered the knockout, the announcer declared the end of the first round. A fifteen-minute intermission would be followed by the second round: the quarterfinals.

The announcer had barely finished speaking when Wu Yun heard an excited shout from the floor below. "Hahaha! I made a killing!"

Takeda Nobuyoshi curiously asked the staff member paying out their winnings, "Did someone downstairs make a big bet?"

The staff member looked just as clueless, so he pressed the transmit button on his earpiece and asked.

A moment later, after finishing the payout, the staff member explained, "Someone downstairs bet on an eight-match parlay and won it all. That’s why he’s so excited."

Wu Yun’s interest was piqued. ’That’s some insane luck. Even with the system’s help, I didn’t get every single match right.’ "What are the odds on an eight-match parlay?" he asked.

The staff member replied, "They’re 1-to-80. The man just bet US$100,000, for a net profit of 7.9 million! His luck is definitely off the charts."

The staffer then asked, "You can both place your bets for the second round now. Please select the fighters for your wager, gentlemen."

On the tournament bracket for the second round, the photos of the eight remaining fighters were already lit up.

First match: No. 16, Iron Fist vs. No. 15, Jackal.

Second match: No. 3, Viper vs. No. 13, Samurai.

Third match: No. 5, Iron Bone vs. No. 6, Brown Bear.

Fourth match: No. 10, the Boxer vs. No. 9, Werewolf.

Wu Yun said directly, "Takeda, how about we just pick our winners for the entire round right now?"

Takeda Nobuyoshi nodded. "Fine by me. We have a good enough read on all the fighters’ abilities by now."

The two men then picked up pens and paper and began to write down their selections.

For the first match of the second round, Wu Yun naturally backed his country’s own fighter, Iron Fist. For the second match, he chose Viper; for the third, Brown Bear; and for the fourth, Werewolf.

When the staff member announced their selections, the people around them stared in astonishment. Their picks were identical.

"Haha! Great minds think alike! Wu Yunsang, it seems you and I are on the same page," Takeda Nobuyoshi roared with laughter.

Wei Wu and the others instantly understood Wu Yun’s and Takeda Nobuyoshi’s strategy.

Wu Yun stood up. "Of course. I’d love to see our country’s fighter thrash your Samurai! Just try not to cry about it when it happens. Hahahaha!"

Takeda Nobuyoshi’s expression soured with disdain. "I’m not some woman! I wouldn’t cry if I were bleeding!"

The staff member registered their selections and had them sign. "Mr. Wu, Mr. Takeda," he asked, "since you’ve both chosen your fighters, would you like to place a parlay bet on this round? The odds are 1-to-40."

Wu Yun and Takeda Nobuyoshi exchanged a look. Wu Yun said, "I’m in for a million!"

"I’ll match that with one million!" Takeda Nobuyoshi, flush with his recent winnings, was feeling bold.

Seeing this, Bashir wanted to follow Wu Yun’s bet as well, since he too had won a considerable amount over the past few rounds.

But Wu Yun advised against it. "Bashir, you’d be safer sticking to single-match bets. Our picks have some personal feelings mixed in, so they might not be accurate!"

Takeda Nobuyoshi, however, disagreed. "Have faith in us! This is definitely the group that will advance! I trust my own judgment!"

Hearing two different opinions, Bashir hesitated. In the end, he decided to follow Wu Yun’s advice and placed four separate single-match bets—though he still used Wu Yun’s and Takeda’s selections.

"One million on each match!"

The other high-rollers in the room turned at his words, but when they saw it was a Middle Eastern man in traditional Arab robes, their expressions shifted to one of understanding.

Having had too much water to drink, Wu Yun headed for the luxurious restroom on the second floor. Wei Wu and Da Xiong naturally followed, leaving Caviar and Wang Hao behind to watch their drinks and belongings.

As a relaxed Wu Yun exited the restroom, he deftly sidestepped a man who looked vaguely familiar—a middle-aged white man with a neatly trimmed, box-style mustache.

Wu Yun noticed the man staring at him; he appeared to have been walking directly toward him.

Racking his brain, Wu Yun realized this was the man who had been sitting in one of the spectator seats near him during yesterday’s betting.

When he saw the two Mexicans from Hawkeye’s video recording yesterday trailing behind the man, Wu Yun instantly understood: this must be their boss.

Wei Wu and Da Xiong, following behind Wu Yun, also spotted the two Mexicans. Neither of them reacted. Only after they had walked a safe distance away did Wei Wu say gravely, "Boss, it looks like the Mexicans are really targeting us."